Marble
by ToeGirth
Summary: The last years of one of the most overlooked characters. Marble's life from the day of her capture to the day of her death.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Tales of Symphonia. Though I wish I did...

**A/N:** This is something that I've been working on and off again for almost two years now. Finally got around to finishing it. Hope you all enjoy.

Marble

The day Marble was taken was probably the scariest of her life. Just another raid, she had told herself as she shoved her beloved little granddaughter into the dresser with the command to keep quiet. The poor girls' parents were out at the market; there was no safe way to see if they were alright.

"Grandma, I want mommy!" Chocolate cried out, ignoring the order for silence.

"I know you want her but you need to stay here and most of all you need to keep quiet," Marble replied, desperation leaking into her voice.

"Grandma," the girl began to wail. From the other side of the closet Marble tried all she could to quiet the frantic child. When all else failed Marble finally conceded defeat.

"Shh, I will get them, okay? I'll go get them, just stay quiet."

"Okay," Chocolate sniffled, instantly calming down at the promise of seeing her parents.

"I'll be right back," Marble said, knowing deep down that she was lying. In a town where you weren't safe inside your own house it was almost suicide to leave. No one ventured out during these raids. Anyone left outside was given nothing but prayers, those under the illusion of safety too scared to open their homes for those they considered damned.

She couldn't stay. Her daughter and son-in-law were out amongst those considered lost. She couldn't live knowing she hadn't even tried to find them. Small whispers of hope spoke in her ears. Assurances that they had to be close by plagued her mind.

With certain finality Marble grabbed her cloak as she stepped outside and closed the front door to her little shop. She strode through the vast empty streets the city had to offer with purpose. The Goddess must have been smiling upon Marble that day as she found her dear family huddled in one of the lesser known alleys behind a rusted fire escape.

Relief flooded Marble as she began to make her way over to her daughter and son. Their gazes filled with fear and their eyes widened as they stared past Marble. They made move to leave their little cubby but one look at Marble had them pause.

She stood stiff and tall as she froze them with a glance and spun to face the ones who had struck fear in the hearts of those she loved. It wasn't fear for themselves, but fear for her. It was well justified that they would feel that way, Marble thought as she stared the Desians in the eye.

"I don't like the attitude of this one. Grab her, she will learn her place under lord Magnius soon enough," said one of the three men watching Marble. They didn't need the whips at their sides to make her follow, though they served their purpose in the end.

Not one glance was spared for her children, any sign that they were there could be a death sentence. Marble's confident strides soon turned to agonized trudges as blood leaked from the gashes their whips left on her back.

Marble noted the other prisoners with mild detachment. Men, women, and children all shared the same expression of fear, pain, and grim acceptance. She was unsurprised to see the same emotions reflected on her face as well as she splashed through a puddle.

A puddle… Had it been raining? Marble found herself not caring for an answer. What did a small amount of rain matter when her life was reaching its un-climactic end. She felt numb, unfeeling, as she and the others were forced to walk the great distance from the city to the Ranch.

Marble was ready to die. A life lived to its fullest lay behind her, and with the knowledge that her family was safe she could be laid to rest peacefully. Or so she thought. Upon entering the large fortress that was the Ranch, her fear began to resurface as her fatigue hit her hard.

Just as her frustration was reaching its peak she was pulled roughly after the others into a side room. Her right arm was grabbed harshly as a cool stone was pressed firmly into her hand. She did not know what the stone was, but it could only be something bad. With a renewed determination rising within her she tried to pry the thing off.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you," an uncaring voice told her as the man it belonged to held a knife to her throat. Freezing, Marble gazed defiantly at the speaker. He seemed almost unnerved by her unwavering gaze and eventually pulled his weapon aside.

"Fine. Do as you like, but the warning was for your safety more than anything else," he grumbled as he turned away. Confusion had Marble's eyebrows pulling together. What was so dangerous about removing the small stone?

Her question was answered almost immediately as a loud roar echoed through the large room. The thing before her would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life. The large green monster fought valiantly against the Desians determined to bring it down. In the end the monster was struck down and carried out of the room.

Fatigue forgotten in the adrenaline rush the sudden danger had invoked in her, Marble easily kept up with her captors as they showed her to her cell. Even after calming down, none of the exhaustion returned leaving Marble a long night to ponder the day's events.

Days began to blur to weeks and weeks to months. Time was forgotten when everyday held the same thing: work. Almost every waking moment was spent doing some sort of pointless physical labor. Moving blocks, carrying wooden beams, building more cells to add to the abundant amount the Ranch already had to offer.

No feeling was more sickening than building the very cell that caged you. Hopelessness was no foreign emotion with fear and pain for company. The only time her routine ever strayed from normal was when they transferred her.

Marble as well as a few others were escorted halfway across the world with as little food and break stops as possible. The mountainous terrain she had spent her life enjoying soon turned to endless green plateaus.

Efreet's hellfire burned upon her back as she traveled the Triet desert. Soon she once again found herself heading toward mountains. The small hope that she had been returned home was quickly squashed when she realized these were not the hills native to the Palmacosta region.

No, these were much sturdier; sturdy enough to hold a Ranch on its peak rather than at its base. No welcome greeted her in this new place, only the uncaring glances of those held here. This was to be her new prison. So far from home, she thought wistfully to herself. So very far.

Why would they have moved her? It's not like the other ranch had been lacking in space. Why was she, a frail, old, dying woman, moved to a new location? The thought haunted her, just as the thought that she would never see her family again.

Part of her had known that the moment she had been captured, yet her cruel heart still bore hope that perhaps one day… but no. Not anymore. Now she couldn't even glean news about her home from recent Ranch additions. She had been completely cut from her family, from all she had even known.

Despair; she should be feeling despair. Should. Somehow, only thin tendrils of it managed to reach her. Marble knew she should be distraught, but all she could feel was a sluggish and mild sadness.

Years. It must have been years since the day she was taken. How big had Chocolate gotten? Was her daughter sporting grey hairs yet? How deep had the crows feet around her son-in-laws eyes grown? Not knowing how her family faired was killing her.

Marble began to grow weak. When you grew weak at a ranch you disappeared. That thought alone propelled her to work harder. She imagined herself back at the shop, making snacks for Chocolate to eat after school, advising her daughter through hard times. The images gave her strength enough to keep moving.

She lived off a distant past and survived off a non-existent future. Then things changed. One day she was given hope in the form of a young silver haired elf. She found him by chance and he found her through curiosity.

The stories the boy, Genis, told her made each beat of her heart mean something again. She smiled when he spoke of his silly friends; a loud boy and a clumsy girl. Her eyes softened at the sight of him rolling his eyes at their latest antics.

He would visit at least once a week and often brought her food. The strength and emotions he gave her made her feel more alive than she had in- well, in a long time. Whenever he went through a hard time he came to her for guidance. Soon he was the closest thing to family she had.

Then the Oracle came. The newest prisoners became boisterous, rebellious. They spoke words of freedom, the end of this cruel life style. The guards grew harsh, on edge at all times. That was the first and only time Marble got to meet one of Genis's friends; a kind boy in red.

Marble had never been caught talking with Genis and was unlucky to be found on that day. The Desians were harsher than usual with their whips. For the first time since coming to that ranch the pain brought a scream to her lips. The beating ended abruptly when her attackers were bombarded by fire.

Time before had moved so slow. In those last twenty four hours they seemed to fly by. With her punishment forgotten she ran for the safety of her fellow prisoners. Blending in among the mass of rioting bodies she prayed that her keepers would forget her involvement. It was not to be.

In the early hours, before the sun had risen, Marble was harshly dragged from her cell. Bound and gagged, she walked with the procession of straight backed Desians. One man led them; he stood out with his bright turquoise hair and the golden contraption clamped around his arm. Their pace was as unforgiving as the men she walked with.

Soon enough they reached the town of Iselia. Marble was forced to stand and watch as the innocent people were drove from their homes; the same homes they cruelly lit on fire destroying everything these people had spent their lives working for.

Tears streamed unnoticed down her cheeks as she could do nothing but stare and wonder why she was here to witness this. After much too long a time the boy she had grown to view as a grandson and his best friend appeared in front of the destructive group of Desians.

She wanted to scream at them, warn them, and tell them to run. They didn't even see her as she was grabbed and unbound. Marble tried to fight the men holding her down to no avail. Her right arm was pulled and bent at a painful angle as the stone on her hand that had been part of her since her admittance to the Palmacosta ranch was violently removed from her flesh.

Her strength drained immediately as intense emotion flooded her. It was too much. The fear, despair, sadness and hopelessness she should have felt over the past years were overwhelming her. Physical pain brought her mental reprieve as she focused on that.

Every bone in her body was on fire; and she knew without a mirror that she was transforming to the ugly beast from her day of Ranch life. The pain stopped, replaced by rage. Marble knew not why she was so mad, just that she was angry enough to have forgotten her name; forgotten the boy she struck at with her oversized mutilated arm.

She thrashed around lashing out at the closest thing. Pain shot through her side as blood blossomed on what was left of her prison garb. Her mind cleared for a moment as she met the eyes of the boy in red. The realization of who she was attacking hit Marble in a moment of clarity.

Gripping her head in pain Marble screamed her agony. The voice coming from her own throat scared her. It wasn't hers, it belonged to the monster those Desians had turned her into. Both boys stepped back in fear of her roar.

Marble turned her wild rage into a controlled anger as she turned on her captors. Her gaze zeroed in on their leader and she clawed at him, holding on with all her might. In a voice that was not her own she spoke what was sure to be her last words.

Marble closed her eyes to the sight of a tearful Genis, preferring instead the image of a happy boy full of childish innocence that she held in her mind. She would never meet the chosen and be saved like the rest, but she had found her own salvation in making a difference to one little boy.

A/N: Let me know what you thought.

ToeGirth,

Signing Out


End file.
